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Cheap Seats: Blast Pitch In To Help School Shooting Victim

October 11, 2012

By Brian Hradsky

Many athletes and sports teams find ways to give back to the community, and the Baltimore Blast are no different. The Blast are raising money to help pay for the medical bills of Daniel Borowy, a 17-year-old special-needs student, who was shot on the first day of school at Perry Hall High School.

The shooting left Borowy in critical condition, and the Blast have since teamed up with the victim's family in a series of fundraising events called "Goals for Daniel."

"When the shooting happened, our first thoughts were how we could help this situation," said Kevin Healey, president and general manager of the Blast.

The first Goals for Daniel event was a 6-on-6 soccer marathon Oct. 13 at Honeygo Regional Park. Blast players, including Perry Hall native Mike Deasel, were in attendance.

Mike Deasel

"This was very close to my house," Deasel said. "You don't think anything like that is going to happen. You just want to do whatever you can to help out and give back a little. These events are a perfect way of doing that."

Along with holding the soccer marathon, the Blast will host Goals for Daniel night during their opening game on Nov. 1. A portion of ticket sales will go to the Borowy family.

Carissa Smith, a friend of Borowy's sister, is one of the reasons the Blast helped organize these events. The Smith family contacted the Blast and has been the connection between the Blast and the Borowy family.

"Mom and I reached out to the Blast, not really knowing if they would respond," Smith said. "We are amazed at how much they are doing to help us with this event. Daniel's family has always helped my family when we needed it, so I wanted to do something that would help him. Soccer is something that Daniel and I enjoy."

The Blast are also sending players out to schools to deliver a strong anti-bullying message, because bullying reportedly was a factor in the shooting.

The Blast have players from all over the country, and some from outside the United States. Healey said he thought that showing children the different cultures on their soccer team could help promote diversity, which in turn would stop bullying.